


Innocence

by SlytherinsArmy1230



Series: Spawn of Satan [3]
Category: Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Reapers, Vampires, Wolves, twilight - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-22
Updated: 2019-03-22
Packaged: 2019-11-28 00:21:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 18,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18200957
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SlytherinsArmy1230/pseuds/SlytherinsArmy1230
Summary: Once again, trouble stirs up in Reaper's Hollow. Someone's stolen very important research from the research lab of Ennery Tower. Will Travis ever find out what Chris isn't telling him? And who's this new guy that's joined their group?





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> This is the third and final installment of Spawn of Satan. Um, I actually really love these characters, but in this story, I don't feel like I've done them justice *winces* I'm so, so, so, so, soooooo sorry :L But here it is!

            “Chris, we’re going to be late if you don’t hurry up!” Travis yelled from the living room. I sighed. I just had to put my shoes on. I slipped them on and went into the living room. We’re on our way to Mr. Hamel’s office. Apparently he found someone to put in our group. I hope this guy, or girl, isn’t an asshole like Ian. I’ve had enough of those.

            “I just had to put my shoes on. What are you so worried about?” I asked as we left the house. We finally made a designated spot to summon the door without being detected. It just happened to be a little bit out of the way of Forks and since we were kind of in a rush, it was an inconvenience.

            “I don’t want to make Mr. Hamel more stressed than he already is.” Travis said rolling his eyes. “You know he’s still trying to figure out who broke into the research lab.”

            “I know, but he’s just putting some kid fresh out of training on our team.” I said shrugging. “It’s nothing to get excited about.”

            “Yeah, I just hope he isn’t as much of a handful as Ian was.” Travis said shaking his head.

            “You and me both.” I grumbled. “I’ve had enough assassination attempts to last me for awhile.”

            “Yeah? Well, if we don’t hurry, there’s possibly going to be another.” Travis said scowling at me.

            “Seriously?”  I asked him with a deadpanned look. “That wasn’t even funny.”

            “It really wasn’t meant to be.” Travis said sighing. I just like to give him a hard time. “I did hear something about our new recruit.”

            “Oh?” I asked a bit curious.

            “Yeah, apparently he’s bit ignorant of humans. This will be his first time stepping into the human world.” Travis said shrugging.

            “I didn’t go to the human world until I got out of training.” I said not really impressed.

            “Yeah, but you adapted quickly and pretty much got treated the same way you do in Reaper’s Hollow.” Travis said shrugging.

            “Wow, someone’s being extra salty today.” I muttered as we finally reached our destination.

            “Anyways, I’m saying you weren’t ignorant of how humans are and he is. He’s basically a child.” Travis said scowling at me.

            “Great...” I said before we summoned the door. We arrive somewhere in town, but we weren’t far from Ennery Tower. We walked the rest of the way in silence. Travis hasn’t asked me about Sophia since he last visited her. I wasn’t going to mention her if he wasn’t. It was mostly because I think she made him mad when she didn’t tell him. We made it to Ennery Tower and went to Mr. Hamel’s office. Travis knocked and we were allowed to enter.

            “Good afternoon, boys.” Mr. Hamel greeted us. Ugh, why did he have to say that?

            “Hello, Mr. Hamel.” Travis greeted him.

            “I took my time in choosing a new recruit for you two. I did double the usual background check so we don’t have another incident.” Mr. Hamel said scowling a bit.

            “That’s good news.” Travis said relieved.

            “I’ll call him in.” Mr. Hamel said before picking up his phone. “Send him in, please.” About two minutes later, a boy with chestnut brown hair and bright blue eyes walked in. He was pale like every Reaper ever, but he was a few inches shorter than me. He also had some freckles dotted across his face. He looked like he was 17 and he looked excited. “Mr. Lynch, Mr. Sykes, this is Jack Quinn. He’s not very experienced with fighting Black Souls, so teach him well.” And then we were dismissed. Jack followed us out to the lobby of Ennery Tower in silence. Once we were outside of the tower, he started talking.

            “I’m excited to work with you two!” Jack said excitedly.

            “I’m glad.” Travis said smiling. “We have a room prepared for you. Do you need to stop to get clothes or anything you might want?”

            “No, I brought that stuff with me!” Jack said showing us his bag.

            “Okay, then let’s get this over with.” Travis said before summoning the door. We ended up back where we entered the door the first time, which is good for us. “Chris, I want you to show him around Forks and get him enrolled in school.”

            “Why do I have to do it?” I said sighing.

            “I’m your boss and what I say, goes.” Travis said scowling at him. I raised an eyebrow at him. He’s never pulled his rank on me before. He’s obviously irritated about something.

            “Okay.” I said shrugging. I decided to be nice for once and not make a comment on it. I looked over at Jack and he didn’t seem uncomfortable with the plan.

            “I’m going to head back to the house. There are some things I need to work on.” Travis said before taking off.

            “He’s a busy guy, isn’t he?” Jack asked, smiling.

            “Yeah, I guess.” I said shrugging.

            “So what are we going to look at first?” Jack asked excitedly. I thought about it long and hard.

            “Let’s start with the basics in case you manage to run into trouble and Travis or I are not around.” I said sighing. That sounds like a smart idea. I showed him where the police department. “If you’re ever in trouble, come here and ask someone to get a hold of either Travis or myself, got it?”

            “Yeah,” He said sounding kind of confused. “Will I be getting into trouble?”

            “I don’t think so. It’s pretty hard to do that in a small town like this, but this is just in case you happen to get into some trouble.” I said shrugging.

            “Okay! Where are we going next?” He asked eagerly. I ended up showing him where everything was and saved the school for last. “So this is the school I’m going to go to?”

            “Yeah, it’s pretty easy stuff, so I wouldn’t stress too much over it.” I told him.

            “Are we going to go inside?” He asked curiously.

            “We’re going to go into the office building.” I said shrugging. “We have to get some papers that you need to fill out to start tomorrow.”

            “Okay!” He said grinning. This kid will agree to anything. I should keep an eye on him in case someone tries to manipulate him into doing something awful. We walked into the office building and the secretary looked up as we walked in.

            “Hello, boys, what can I do for you?” She asked politely.

            “This is Jack Quinn. He’s here to be enrolled into school.” I told her. She nods and opens a filing cabinet. After a few minutes of searching for some papers, she handed them over to me.

            “These need to be filled out and brought back tomorrow.” She explained.

            “Okay, thanks.” I told her before Jack and I left.

            “She seems nice.” Jack commented as I took him back to the house.

            “She’s a little too nice.” I said grimacing. In a sense, she kind of reminds me how I thought of Sophia when I first met her.

            “How can someone be too nice?” Jack asked curiously. Oh. I forgot how naïve he is.

            “Sometimes humans or anyone really can be nice to a certain point to get what they want. For example, say a girl came up to you and asked you if you wanted to go see a movie with her.” I said looking over at him briefly before turning my eyes back to the road.

            “I would say yes because she seems nice.” Jack said easily.

            “Right, well consider this. Earlier that day, she and her friends were talking about you and trying to come up with a plan to get you alone to upset you in front of a lot people so they could laugh at you. Would you have said yes if you’d known that?” I asked him.

            “No, that doesn’t sound good at all.” Jack said sadly.

            “I’m not saying all people are like that, but there are some people like that out here in the Human World. So you have to watch out for those people.” I told him.

            “How will I know when a person is like that?” Jack asked looking like a lost child. I sighed.

            “Honestly? You don’t know. You just follow how you feel and if something doesn’t feel right, then you get away from that person.” I said as I pulled into the driveway of the house.

            “Okay. I’ll keep that in mind.” Jack said smiling now.

            “I have a question. Why aren’t you glaring at me and treating me like a bug like everyone else?” I asked him curiously. What? I can be blunt too.

            “Hm... I don’t think you’re a bug. I have heard some of the things Reapers have said about you, but I don’t agree with any of it.” Jack said thoughtfully. Then he looked at me and smiled. “Since I don’t agree with any of it, I’m going to make it my goal to get to know you.”

            “I’m not a saint, just warning you now.” I said frowning. He shrugged.

            “I don’t care.” He said before getting out of the car. I blinked. Did he just tell me that he was going to be my friend whether I liked it or not? I like this kid. I thought chuckling. I got out of the car and headed inside.


	2. Chapter 1

            When Jack and I got inside, Travis was sitting at the kitchen table looking over some papers. “What are you doing, Travis?” Jack asked him curiously.

            “Oh, they’re just some papers Mr. Hamel is having me look over. It’s nothing too important.” Travis said smiling. “I’ll show you to your room.” He gathered the papers and then led Jack upstairs. I shook my head. Travis is being weird. I thought frowning. If he won’t tell me, then I guess it’s none of my business. I have this feeling that it’s to do with Sophia in some way though. I sighed and made me something to eat. I’ve been getting these spells where I’m hungry all the time and then I’m not hungry at all for a day or two. It’s really weird and I don’t like it.  The snow outside has started to melt but it was still really cold outside. Plus everywhere you looked there was mud and it made it harder to cover my tracks when I stop Black Souls. It’s annoying. By the time Travis and Jack came back into the kitchen, I’d already finished my food and was thinking about making more. “Are you pigging out on food again?” Travis asked raising an eyebrow at me.

            “Fuck off, I can’t help it.” I grumbled before deciding that I wanted another sandwich. Travis shook his head.

            “Don’t forget that it’s Friday and you have plans with the wolves.” Travis reminded me. “You should take Jack with you. He’s going to meet them eventually.”

            “Fine.” I said before stuffing my face.

            “Wolves?” Jack said sounding excited.

            “Werewolves.” Travis said shrugging. “They co-exist with the vampire coven here.”

            “How?” Jack asked shocked.

            “They have this treaty thing or something.” I said shrugging. I finished my food and since it was about time to actually go meet the wolves, I decided to just head over there. “We’ll go now, since it’s almost time to go.”

            “Okay. See you two when you get back.” Travis said before disappearing into his office. I rolled my eyes and turned to Jack.

            “Are we going back to the car?” Jack asked smiling.

            “Yeah.” I said sighing. “Let’s go.”  Jack was the first one to get into the car. Eager much? I got in and drove us to La Push. I pulled into the parking lot next to the beach and Jack eagerly followed me to where I knew the wolves would be waiting.

            “Who’s that?” Jacob asked as soon as Jack and I approached them.

            “This is Jack. He’s our new recruit and so far, he’s nothing like that bastard.” I said shrugging. “He’s just here to ‘meet’ you, since in Travis’ words, ‘he was going to meet them anyways’.”  Sam nodded and just as we were about to get started, three Black Souls appeared. I rolled my eyes.

            “I’m not very confident in facing off with them quite yet.” Jack admitted. I sighed.

            “Fine. Just stay right here.” I told him before getting out my scythe. The Black Souls charged at me and I easily took them out with one blow. Some of the blood got on my shirt, causing me to scowl. Yet another shirt has been ruined. I put my scythe away and turned back towards the others. “Are we going to get started or what?” I asked when I saw them just staring at me.

            “Right...” Sam said before shaking his head.

            “That. Was. AMAZING!” Jack said excitedly.

            “Not really...” I said looking at him like he was crazy. “That’s what I always do.” That didn’t seem to matter to Jack. I shrugged and turned towards the wolves. We worked on dodging, punching, foot work, and now they just needed to learn how to put that all together.

            “So what are we doing today?” Quill asked curiously.

            “You’re going to spar with me and put everything we went over together.” I told him, shrugging. “Don’t worry, I’ll go easy on you.” I smirked as a few of them rolled their eyes.

            “Ooh, can I spar with you too!?” Jack asked eagerly.

            “Sure...” I said as I started stretching. Jack actually clapped, that was how happy he was, and then he started stretching too. “So, who’s first?” Jacob decided he wanted to have a go at me first. I guess it makes sense since I kicked his ass the first time he tried to spar with me. We didn’t get very far when I had to pause our sparring match.

            “What’s wrong? You scared?” Jacob asked smirking.

            “Not in your life time.” I said rolling my eyes. I turned around and waited. Just as Jacob was about to say something again, a door appeared and out came Marcus and his school girls. “Well if it isn’t the high school drama club.”

            “Where’s Travis?” Marcus asked me, scowling.

            “At the house, why?” I asked him, getting a bad feeling about this.

            “Call him and bring him here.” Marcus ordered. I sighed. I guess I won’t argue with them if they’re not after me. I pulled out my phone and dialed Travis’ number. He picked up on the third ring.

            “What?” Travis asked in annoyance.

            “Well, I’m sorry for interrupting whatever the hell you’re doing, but you have some guests here on First Beach.” I said annoyed with his strange behavior already.

            “Guests?”

            “Just get your ass over here.” I said before hanging up on him.

            “Is he coming?” Marcus asked.

            “Yes.” I said rolling my eyes. It was about ten minutes or so later when Travis showed up.

            “What’s going on?” Travis asked when he spotted Marcus.

            “They wouldn’t tell me.” I said shrugging.

            “You’re coming with us Travis.” Marcus said smirking. Yeah, not a good feeling at all. Travis frowned.

            “Fine.” Travis said sighing. “I’ll be back later.” Then Travis went with Marcus through the door.

            “What just happened?” Jack asked confused.

            “I’m thinking Travis got himself into some trouble with Mr. Hamel.” I said sighing. “Sorry, but I’m going to have to cut today’s lesson short.”

            “I understand.” Sam said nodding.

            “Come on, Jack.” I told him. Jack nodded and we went back to the house. I didn’t spot Travis’ car anywhere near by so he must’ve already been close by. Travis’ car wasn’t at the house either. Did he go to the Cullens? They would’ve been closer to La Push. I went into Travis’ office and saw the papers he was working on earlier. I skimmed through them and sighed. He’d been doing research on what my father was doing and he seemed to have been investigating whoever stole that research from the lab at Ennery Tower. That would be a good reason for him to get into trouble with Mr. Hamel. Still though. Marcus smirked at Travis like he knew something was going to happen. Did Mr. Hamel think Travis was the one who stole that research? If he did, things just got more annoying.

            “What are we going to do?” Jack asked frowning. Oh, he was looking at the papers too.

            “There isn’t much we can do if they took him under Mr. Hamel’s orders.” I said sighing.

            “But he hasn’t done anything wrong.” Jack said shaking his head.

            “Yeah, but the fact that he’s looking into all of this, I’m sure Mr. Hamel is suspicious about it.” I pointed out. “I can see where Mr. Hamel is coming from, but I know Travis isn’t the one responsible for taking that research. He was with me the whole time.”

            “Who would have stolen that research?” Jack asked curiously.

            “Well, I have an idea of who did it, but I don’t have proof.” I said sighing. My phone rang and I recognized the number as Carlisle’s. “Yes?”

            “I’ve been trying to reach Travis, but he isn’t answering. He came by earlier and said you had called and went to meet you. But now I can’t get a hold of him.” Carlisle said sounding troubled. “Do you know what’s going on?”

            “He’s in a meeting with Mr. Hamel right now. Plus phones don’t work in Reaper’s Hollow.” I told him.

            “Oh. Well, I wanted to speak with him more about your magic.” Carlisle said sounding eager.

            “If you want, I could tell you more about it.” I said knowing I’d regret this later.

            “Really? You don’t mind?” Carlisle asked.

            “No.” I said sighing. Plus Jack will want to meet them if when he asks about the call after I get off the phone.

            “Great! Do you mind coming over now?” Carlisle asked excitedly.

            “No. I’ll be bringing our new recruit with me.” I told him.

            “That’s fine. I’ll see you soon!” Then Carlisle hung up on me.

            “What’s going on?” Jack asked curiously.

            “You’re going to meet the vampires.” I told him.

            “Vampires?” Jack said excitedly.

            “Yeah, but they’re not that interesting.” I said shrugging. That didn’t seem to bother him as he went out to the car. I grabbed a sandwich, still feeling hungry, and decided to eat it on the way there.

            “How come you didn’t tell them the truth about Travis?” Jack asked on the way over.

            “I’m not sure what’s going on myself. I don’t want the vampires to unnecessarily worry and nag at me about it, especially since there isn’t anything we can do about it.” I said after I finished my sandwich. Jack beamed at me. “What?”

            “You’re a lot nicer than you let on.” He said grinning.

            “Whatever.” I said rolling my eyes. I just don’t want to be nagged at. We finally arrived at the Cullens and Travis’ car was there like Carlisle said it was. The front door swung open before I had the chance to knock. Alice beamed at Jack.

            “Who’s this?” She asked as she let us in.

            “This is Jack. He’s our new recruit.” I said feeling like I should shield Jack away from her. After the introductions, Carlisle basically cornered me and forced me to tell him everything I know about the magic Travis and I used.

            “It’s not required to know how to use magic.” I told him. “But it does come in handy if you ever run into trouble with a group like those Volturi creeps.”

            “Where does the magic come from?” Carlisle asked curiously.

            “It doesn’t really come from anywhere. Everyone has the ability to use magic, but you just have to learn to tap into it.” I said shrugging.

            “Everyone? Meaning it’s not limited to just Reapers?” Edward asked curiously.

            “Right, it’s just different how we use it.” I said as Jack kept staring at the Cullens in wonder. They all decided they wanted to know more about magic I guess.

            “So witches actually exist?” Emmett asked looking excited.

            “Well yeah. There are a lot of supernatural beings that exist. Witches aren’t really that different from humans though.” I said sighing. Basically, the conversation went in this direction until Esme called it and Jack and I were free to go.

            “Don’t I still need to fill out that paperwork for school?” Jack asked as we walked into the house.

            “Shit. Yeah. Come on.” I said taking him into the kitchen. The papers were sitting at the table and I helped him fill them out. We had sandwiches for dinner because I didn’t feel like cooking.


	3. Chapter 2

            The next day, I took Jack to the school to hand in the papers and by the time we got back to the house, Travis was back. He looked a little roughed up, but other than that, he was fine. “Travis, you’re back!” Jack said looking relieved. Travis nodded.

            “Yeah,” He said sounding troubled.

            “What’s bothering you now?” I asked him sighing.

            “It’s nothing.” Travis said shaking his head. “Anyways, did you get Jack set up at the school?”

            “Yeah.” I told him, wondering what he was being so secretive about. I’ll confront him about those papers later. “You should call Carlisle.”

            “Why?” Travis asked confused.

            “He was pretty worried about you yesterday.” I said shrugging. Travis grimaced.

            “Oh, yeah, I’ll call him. Is my car still over there?” Travis asked curiously.

            “Yeah.” Travis nodded before disappearing into his office. So he’s not even going to explain what happened? Wow. Okay then. Whatever.

            “Is Travis okay?” Jack asked looking concerned.

            “I don’t know. I’m sure whatever happened must’ve not been that bad if he’s back already.” I said shrugging.

            “Do you think they tortured him?” Jack asked worried.

            “Trust me, if they tortured him, he’d be covered in blood from head to toe.” I said rolling my eyes. Jack frowned.

            “Oh yeah. You’ve gone through that a lot, haven’t you?” He said looking at me.

            “I’ve gotten used to it.” I said shrugging.

            “But that’s not right...” Jack said shaking his head.

            “Why would you say that?” I asked him, curiously.

            “Because you’ve done nothing wrong.” Jack said looking at me with determination in his eyes. It was starting to make me feel uncomfortable, I’m not going to lie.

            “Thanks... I guess.” I said not really sure what to say to that.

            “Can I ask you something?” Jack said looking very serious.

            “Sure.” I said wondering where this was going to go.

            “Why do you let others hurt you like it’s no big deal? When you’ve done nothing wrong? Why don’t you stand up for yourself?” Jack said frowning.

            “That’s technically two questions.” I pointed out.

            “You’re avoiding my questions.” He said looking a little frustrated. I sighed.

            “Honestly? If someone wants to hurt me, then they can. It doesn’t bother me. I’ve been hurt my whole existence and I’m used to being treated the way I am. I don’t stand up for myself because the last time I did that, no one listened. I decided that if no one was going to listen, then what’s the point of wasting the energy? If someone doesn’t like me, who am I to stop them from telling me their opinion? Yeah I don’t care about what anyone thinks of me, but if someone’s going to tell me what they think, it’s better to just let them get it out of their system and move on.” I said shrugging. “So if torturing me to their heart’s content makes them leave me alone afterwards, them I’m all for it. They’ll get bored of it eventually and I can move on with my existence.”

            “That’s a sad existence.” Jack said sympathetically.

            “Welcome to my existence then.” I said deciding to make me something to eat.

            “Why do you want to be alone?” He asked.

            “I like being alone.” I said sighing. He wasn’t going to let this go, was he?

            “But you’re not truly alone since Travis and now I’m here too.” Jack told me. “You expect others to treat you poorly and when they don’t, you assume they’re up to something.”

            “Well, to be fair, the only other person who treated me decently, besides you, is up to something.” I said rolling my eyes.

            “Well, I’m not going to be like that person. I genuinely want to be your friend.” Jack said looking at me with that determination again.

            “That’s great and all, but are you sure about that? You don’t think someone is going to treat you like crap too?” I asked him.

            “I don’t care if they do. You’re my friend and I’m not going to abandon you.” Jack said stubbornly.

            “Okay.” I said nodding before turning to make my sandwich.

            “Okay? You mean... you don’t mind me being your friend?” Jack asked curiously.

            “No.” I said as I assembled my sandwich.

            “Yay!” Jack said excitedly. This kid has a way with words. I don’t understand why I told him all of that, but I guess that’s just the kind of person Jack is. I’m definitely going to have to keep an eye on him at school.

Travis’ P.O.V

            I can’t believe Mr. Hamel thought I was the one who stole from the lab. How could I if I was with Chris dealing with the Volturi? Well I did try to get as much information about who stole all that research as I could, so I guess it would make sense. I remember leaving some of the papers I was looking at out. Good, I didn’t leave the important ones out. I know Chris must have come in here to look at them after I went with Marcus and the others. I walked out of my office and headed for the kitchen. I stopped just outside the door when I heard Chris telling Jack how he didn’t care what happened to him as long as he was left alone in the long run. He never told me any of this stuff before. He always brushed me off. I frowned. How did Jack get him to open up so easily? I barely got Chris to tell me about what he remembered of his parents and I STILL don’t know exactly what he likes to eat. It seems Mr. Hamel made a good decision after all. I feel like having Jack around is going to be good for Chris. After hearing Jack cheer about something, I decided to finally go in there. “What’s going on in here?” I asked when spotted Jack looking at Chris excitedly as Chris at his sandwich.

            “Chris said he’d let me be his friend.” Jack said beaming at me. Wow, this kid is really excitable.

            “Oh?” I said looking over Chris with a smirk.

            “Fuck off.” He said rolling his eyes.

            “I’m assuming you cut the lesson with the wolves short?” I asked Chris.

            “Yeah,” Chris said shrugging. “I had a peek at what you were looking at yesterday.”

            “Oh? Did you like what you saw?” I asked him sarcastically.

            “I just assumed that what you’ve been looking into was the reason why you had to go with Marcus and the rest of the high school drama club.” Chris said shrugging.

            “Well, you were right. Mr. Hamel thought I was the one who broke into the research lab.” I said shaking my head. “Ridiculous.”

            “So, did you find anything in your research?” Chris asked curiously. I’m more surprised he didn’t ask me why, but I guess he already knew the answer that that one.

            “Nothing so far.” I said shrugging. “Just the cover up of what happened and I found a few leads on who might’ve taken the research from the lab. I’ve talked to a few of them and I’ve hit a wall.”

            “So what are you going to do now?” Jack asked curiously.

            “I’ll figure something out.” I said sighing. “Did you get your schedule for school yet?” I want to change the subject.

            “Yeah! I’m in all of Chris’ classes!” Jack said excitedly.

            “We turned his papers in before you got back.” Chris said shrugging.

            “Are you still as hungry as you were yesterday?” I asked him curiously.    

            “Kind of? It’s just weird.” Chris said sighing. “I don’t know what to make of it.”

            “I just don’t understand why it’s just starting now all of a sudden.” I said confused.

            “Well, we’re on the same page then.” Chris said before he bit into his sandwich. I decided to go back and look at those papers again. Yesterday, I found out something terrible that involves Chris and I’m a hundred percent sure he doesn’t even know about it. I was looking into his father’s experiments and I noticed there was a folder that was separate from all the rest. Mr. Hamel allowed me to look through some of the stuff in the research lab that wasn’t stolen. He has agreed to let me look into it but only so I can help him find the person who broke into the lab. Anyways, I was going through what was left and noticed the folder. I looked through it and about passed out. Chris’ father’s very first experimentation was done on his wife and that means Chris has Black Soul in him. I’m assuming it’s a very miniscule part of him because the Black Willow stakes still affect him. But does that explain why he’s been so hungry all of a sudden? Finding out all of this hasn’t helped me get closer to find out who broke into the lab though. I haven’t told Chris any of this because I’m not sure how he would take it. I don’t even think Mr. Hamel knows about it.

Chris’ P.O.V

            It’s Monday and it’s Jack’s first day of school. He’s really excited about it and it’s kind of making me just want to stay home. I thought as we ate breakfast. “Will the Cullens be there?” Jack asked excitedly.

            “Unfortunately...” I said sighing.

            “Do you not like them?” Jack asked curiously.

            “No, that’s not it.” I said not really wanting to get into this so early in the morning. “They just annoy me sometimes.”

            “Wow, I’m shocked you’re speaking so freely this morning.” Travis said smirking at me.

            “Fuck off,” I said rolling my eyes.

            “Don’t let Chris fool you, Jack. He really does like the Cullens, but he’d rather be tortured than to say it out loud.” Travis said looking amused.

            “How come?” Jack asked looking at Travis.

            “That’s just how Chris has always been.” Travis said shrugging.

            “Oh.” Jack said smiling. I sighed and got up. I’m tired of this conversation. “Is it time to go yet?” He sounded so excited.

            “Yes,” I said feeling exhausted already. I really don’t want to go to school today.

            “Yay!” Jack cheered before grabbing his bag and going out the door.

            “Well, someone’s excited.” Travis said chuckling. “I see that you have to be honest with Jack otherwise he’ll take everything too seriously, so don’t joke about stuff too much.”

            “Yeah, I already figured that much out.” I said rolling my eyes.

            “Well, that explains a lot.” Travis said shaking his head. I scowl at him and grab my stuff and head out to the car. Once we were at school, a lot of the students were staring and talking about Jack. Jack didn’t seem to be too bothered about it though. So I guess that was good.

            “Hello, Jack.” Alice greeted him.

            “Hi, Alice!” Jack said smiling at her. All the excitement rolling off of him made me want to cringe, but for some reason or another I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I let him go off and talk to the Cullens but I’m going to keep an eye on him. The Cullens move on into the school, leaving Jack by himself. He wasn’t by himself for long because Newton and his friends decided to move in on him. I glare at him and immediately make my way towards Jack.

            “Hey, loser. I see you’ve made yourself at home with the freaks.” Newton said smirking at Jack.

            “Why would they be freaks?” Jack asked curiously. Just before anything else could happen, I grabbed Jack and pulled him back from Newton.

            “Fuck off, Newton.” I said glaring at him. Newton huffed and he and his friends walked away.

            “What happened?” Jack asked confused.

            “Those people aren’t good humans.” I told him sighing.

            “Oh, they’re the kind of people you told me about, right?” He asked frowning.

            “Yeah.” I said letting him go. After that, Jack stuck very close to me. I mean, seriously close to me it was annoying. I didn’t say anything though because I’d honestly rather him being close to me than some idiot human deciding to go after him and cause problems.


	4. Chapter 3

            “I see you’ve got yourself a little boyfriend.” Newton sneered at lunch time as Jack followed me to the Cullen’s table. The only reason why I’m even sitting there is because Jack really likes them.

            “Fuck off, Newton.” I said rolling my eyes. Jack frowned.

            “I don’t like him.” He muttered.

            “That’s okay. I don’t either.” I said shrugging. “Besides, you should just ignore him.”

            “It’s really hard...” Jack said pouting.

            “Trust me, I know.” I said sighing. We sat down at the table and began eating our lunch.

            “Mike is really starting to get on my last nerves.” Bella grumbled.

            “Oh? I wouldn’t worry too much about him.” I said after swallowing what was in my mouth.

            “Why do you say that?” Jasper asked curiously.

            “Hm... it’s nothing.” I said before taking another bite of my food. Everyone just looked at me confused, but I just ignored it. They don’t need to know what I’m planning. It was just a spur of the moment, but I feel like messing with that asshole. Edward scowled at me. “What? It’s not like I’m going to do anything illegal.”

            “But you said it was nothing.” Bella said accusingly.

            “Trust me, you don’t want to know what I have planned.” I said shrugging.

            “I didn’t take you for the pranking type.” Emmett said grinning.

            “Yeah, well, let’s just say he’s getting on my last nerve too.” I said before frowning.

            “A Black Soul?” Alice asked curiously.

            “Yeah.” I said getting up. “You coming with me?” I asked looking at Jack.

            “Yeah!” Jack said enthusiastically and jumping out of his seat. Jack and I made our way out of the school and went searching for the Black Soul. It was pretty far from the school and it seemed to be near a lot of houses. That’s not good. “What are we going to do?” Jack asked worriedly.

            “We’ll have to be really careful not to be seen.” I said sighing. “This is going to be a pain.” Jack nodded and we pulled out our scythes. It was just one but we had to be cautious since it was the middle of the day. There was a Black Soul in the backyard of someone’s house. I checked to see if anyone was home and from what I could see, there wasn’t anyone there. Good. Maybe this will go smoother, or not. I thought as Jack went after the Black Soul, nearly tripping over himself, and the Black Soul barely dodged him, causing itself to fall into the fence and breaking it. Well, that’s going to take some explaining. I grimaced and immediately got rid the Black Soul before any more damage could be done. “You’re not very graceful are you?”

            “Sorry, I’m not very good with fighting.” Jack mumbled blushing. I sighed.

            “Don’t worry about it. You’ve never actually went up against a Black Soul, have you?” I asked him as we returned to the school.

            “No. I’ve only sparred with other Reapers, but even then, I wasn’t very good.” Jack sounded upset as he said this.

            “Then... how about I spar with you until you get better?” I suggested, not really sure why. I mean I would’ve never done something like this ten years ago. I wouldn’t have even put up with this kid either. Maybe I’m being too soft? Nah. If I didn’t say something, I’d have to deal with a mopey kid the rest of the day and knowing Travis I’ll get blamed for it.

            “Really?” Jack asked excitedly.

            “Yeah, I don’t see why not. After I’m done with those dogs, I don’t really have much to do.” I said shrugging.

            “Yay! Thank you so much!” He said beaming at me.

            “Yeah...” I said feeling weird. I’m not sure if I like it or not though. We returned to the school and lunch had already ended. So we grabbed our stuff and headed to our next class. The teacher was pissed but I didn’t care. Jack apologized to the teacher and then we took our seats. I think Jack has had a pretty eventful first day of school. I hope this isn’t something that will happen every day because it’s pretty exhausting. After school, Jack and I went back to the house and Jack decided to actually do the homework assignments. More power to him I guess. Travis asked Jack how his day went and Jack didn’t spare any of the details; even the part about the Black Soul and me offering to spar with him. I was kind of hoping Jack would keep quiet about the Black Soul though. As soon as he mentioned the broken fence, Travis glared at me like it was my fault. “Don’t look at me like I planned for that to happen.” I said sighing. I’m really, REALLY starting to get tired of Travis’ crap.

            “You couldn’t have been more discreet?” Travis asked, looking pissed.

            “No, I couldn’t. I did my best, so get off my case.” I said glaring right back at him. This asshole was seriously starting to piss me off. I haven’t been this pissed at him in a long time.

            “No, Chris. I can’t get off your case. I have to make sure-“

            “You have to make sure I don’t screw up?” I asked, cutting him off. “Because you’re doing SUCH a fantastic job! You should be promoted!”

            “What?” Travis asked in a tone that suggested that he was ready to rip my head off.

            “You heard me. I get it, I’m a screw up. So what? Everyone screws up. Yeah, the fence was broken, but nobody was harmed and more importantly, no one was home. I do have a brain you know.” I said in cold voice. “So go ahead. Tell Mr. Hamel I’m such a screw up and have me put on Blank Island or tortured or whatever. I don’t care. But don’t tell me I don’t know how to do my job. Yeah, it could’ve gone better, but it didn’t. I screwed up! I know I screwed up and you don’t have to tell me.”

            “Stop fighting!” Jack cried. Travis flinched. I almost forgot he was here. I took in a deep breath and let it out.

            “If you need me, I’ll be in my room.” I said before grabbing my stuff and heading to my room. I swear I’m going to figure out what his stupid problem is so he can just fuck off and leave me the fuck alone.

Travis’ P.O.V

            Jack sniffled and I sighed. “I’m sorry Jack.” I said calmly. “I’ve just been under a lot of stress lately and I know I shouldn’t have taken it out on Chris like that.”

            “It was my fault the fence got broken.” Jack said looking down.

            “Don’t worry about it. No one blames you.” I told him smiling. “And... I’ll apologize to Chris, but I think I’ll let him cool off first. I haven’t seen him that pissed at me for a long time.”

            “What happened?” Jack asked curiously.

            “Oh... it was about ten or so years ago and we had just met. We didn’t like each other very much and it resulted in a lot of arguments.” I said shaking my head. “There was a few times where it got so bad we ended up sparring with each other.”

            “That’s awful,” Jack said frowning.

            “Yeah, but I think we’ve grown a bit on each other and sacrificed a few things to make this work.” I said sighing. “We don’t fight like we used to, but we do bicker from time to time. This time though... it was worse than usual.”

            “Friends shouldn’t fight.” Jack said looking determined.

            “You’re right, but I’m not sure if you would call what Chris and I have, friendship.” I said chuckling. “I’m not really sure what to call it.”

            “I’m his friend and we don’t fight.” Jack said pouting.

            “That’s because you don’t know him as well as I do.” I said thinking that this kid was just too pure for the world.

            “If I get to know him better, will we fight all the time too?” Jack asked worriedly.

            “No.” I said smiling. “No, if you get to know him better, I feel like Chris will open up more and not be so grumpy.” I said the last part jokingly and it made Jack laugh.

            “He is a bit grumpy isn’t he?” He said giggling like a child.

            “Just a little bit,” I said grinning. “It’s great that he’s going to train you some more.”

            “Yeah! I was kind of shocked that he would do it.” Jack said shrugging.

            “You and me both.” I said feeling impressed with this kid. He’s bringing out a side of Chris that I’ve never seen before and it’s kind of weird. But it’s a relief because I feel like Chris is definitely changing for the better. I’ve decided that it’s time to confront Sophia. “Jack, I’m going to be gone for a few hours. Will you tell Chris that?”

            “Yeah,” Jack said frowning.

            “I promise that I will talk to him.” I told him. He nods and goes back to doing his homework. I went to the space Chris and I found to summon the door to Reaper’s Hollow. That kid is way too pure for this world. I thought shaking my head. When I arrived at Sophia’s home, I felt like I was finally going to get the answers I was looking for. I knocked and after a few minutes, Erica answered the door.

            “Oh, hey Travis.” She greeted me with a smile. “Sophia is in the kitchen. I was just about to head out.”

            “Thanks.” I told her with a smile. Like Erica said, Sophia was in the kitchen. She seemed to be in a good mood and for some reason, it made me feel uneasy.

            “Travis!” She said looking mildly surprised. “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you last.”

            “Yeah, I’ve been pretty busy.” I said shrugging.

            “What have you been busy with? I’ve missed you!” She said smiling at me.

            “Oh, just doing some research. I’ve also been trying to help Mr. Hamel find out who broke into the research lab.” I said frowning. I hope my hunch isn’t right.

            “Oh.” She said giving me a blank look. That put me on edge. “Do you have any leads?”

            “Not exactly.” I said shrugging. “But that’s not what I came here to talk to you about.”

            “What is it?” She asked curiously.

            “I need you to tell me the truth. What did you and Chris talk about?” I asked giving her a stern look. She sighs.

            “Are we really going to do this?” She asked me scowling.

            “Yes. I’m not leaving until you’ve told me the truth.” I said feeling a bit annoyed with her behavior. I usually don’t get so annoyed with her, but I’ve been under a lot of stress lately. I guess I’m just being impatient.

            “There you go being stubborn again.” Sophia said shaking her head.

            “I’m being serious, Sophia.” I told her.

            “Fine,” She said sighing. “I’ll tell you what we discussed, but you’re not going to like it.”

            “I don’t care.” I said almost glaring at her.

            “I told Chris I wanted to know how his parents made that cute little angel.” She said smiling. “He wouldn’t tell me though.” She sounded bitter when she said the last part.

            “Angel? You mean that monster that was half Reaper, half Black Soul?” I asked shocked. She glared at me.

            “SHE was not a monster! She was adorable and cute!” Sophia shouted.

            “What have you been doing?” I asked her, afraid of what her answer would be. She rolled her eyes at me.

            “What do YOU think I’ve been doing?” She asked sounding like the answer was so obvious.

            “You broke into the research lab, didn’t you?” I asked grimacing.

            “Duh! I bet Chris already figured it out the minute he heard about it.” She grumbled. Oh no... Don’t tell me...

            “Don’t tell me you’ve been experimenting on people.” I said feeling horrified.

            “How else am I supposed to get my own little angel?” She said rolling her eyes. “You’ve got your truth, now go away!” Erica walked in at that point and I let myself out of the house. I went back to Forks as quickly as I could. So this is why Chris wouldn’t tell me. Now I know why he doesn’t like Sophia. How long had she been planning this? When did she change? She was always really nice and liked to involve everyone in everything. Did it happen after she met Chris? Did I do something to cause this?

            “Anyone home in there?” An annoyed voice said bring me out of my thoughts. It was Chris. We were standing in the living room. When did I get here?

            “I’m sorry for snapping at you like I have been.” I said finally. Chris shrugged.

            “It’s fine I guess.” He said before taking a seat on the couch. I noticed he had some food sitting on the coffee table. “I’m assuming you went to go see Sophia again?”

            “Yeah.” I said sighing.

            “Did she tell you?” Chris asked looking indifferent, but I know better. I could tell in his eyes that he was worried. I’m not sure if he was worried about me or the fact that Sophia told me, but it comforted me in a way.

            “Yeah... I understand why you didn’t tell me.” I said sighing. “What are we going to do?”

            “We can’t really do anything since we don’t have any proof.” Chris said shrugging before eating some of his food.

            “But we can’t just sit around and wait.” I said feeling anxious.

            “We could always try to find out where she’s been experimenting.” Chris said shrugging after swallowing what was in his mouth.

            “You knew she was experimenting?” I asked him frowning.

            “No, I just assumed.” He said looking at me warily.

            “What?” I asked him confused.

            “Normally you start nagging at me for not telling you.” He said still giving me the same look.

            “Oh. Do you want me to?” I asked him grinning.

            “No, not really.” He said rolling his eyes.

            “I didn’t think so.” I said chuckling. He flipped me off before eating some more.


	5. Chapter 4

Chris’ P.O.V

            “Is it safe now?” Jack asked, poking his head out of the kitchen.

            “Yes.” I said shaking my head. “You didn’t have to hide in the kitchen.”

            “Yeah, this is usually how it ends up with me and Chris.” Travis said shrugging.

            “I don’t like it when you two fight.” Jack muttered walking into the living room.

            “Sorry...” I muttered not looking at him.

            “Wow, you’ve been apologizing a lot lately.” Travis said smirking at me.

            “Fuck off.” I said scowling at him. Jack just smiles. “Are you going to tell me what you’ve been so stressed about?”

            “What do you mean?” Travis asked, looking at me blankly.

            “It’s obvious you weren’t just worried about Sophia and what happened with the research lab. You must’ve found something. So out with it, what’s really been bothering you?” I asked hoping he’d tell me. Travis frowned.

            “Fine.” He said sighing. “So I was doing research on your father’s work and I found something that I don’t think you’ll like hearing.”

            “It can’t be any worse than what Sophia is doing, can it?” I said frowning.

            “Well, it’s not like we can do anything about it, but yeah it’s pretty bad.” He said hesitantly.

            “Just tell me.” I said rolling my eyes.

            “Okay, so you know how your father experimented on all those Reapers?” He asked me.

            “Yeah, what about it?” I asked confused.

            “Well, the very first person he experimented on was your mother.” He said grimacing.

            “Are you sure?” I asked not really sure how I feel about this information.

            “Yes. I’m one hundred percent positive.” Travis said grimly. “As far as I can tell, the only part of you that seems effected by the Black Soul is the fact that you’ve been really hungry lately.”

            “I guess that makes sense. I mean, I was heavily affected when I was stabbed with the black willow stake.” I said shrugging. “But that bastard was really sick in the head.”

            “You’re telling me.” Travis said shaking his head.

            “Um, what exactly is going on?” Jack asked confused. Travis and I shared a look before we explained to him everything that’s happened so far. “Oh. I’m sorry.”

            “Why are you apologizing?” Travis asked him curiously.

            “Chris had to deal with something so evil and messed up and then he lost his parents.” Jack said looking sad.

            “Don’t feel bad on my account.” I said sighing. “Besides, my parents weren’t good people. They were the kind of people I told you about.”

            “And what kind of people did you tell him about?” Travis asked looking at me suspiciously.

            “Relax.  I was just warning him about how manipulative most humans can be.” I said rolling my eyes.

            “Oh. That’s sensible.” Travis said nodding his approval.

            “I’m not stupid.” I grumbled.

            “So this Sophia person is the other person you were talking about?” Jack asked me. I could tell he was referring to the conversation we had about there’s only one other person who treated me decently and is now up to no good.

            “Yeah.” I said shrugging.

            “What have you been telling him?” Travis asked scowling at me.

            “I just said relax. I haven’t told him anything that won’t keep him out of trouble.” I said sighing. “If you want to know so badly, then you can ask Jack.”

            “Fine, I’ll trust you.” Travis said sighing. It was getting late, so we all went to bed. I hope Sophia doesn’t succeed in making a monster.

_Dream_

_“Chris, wake up!” Huh? Who’s...? I opened my eyes and see my father. Oh._

_“What’s wrong?” I asked him._

_“I have a surprise for you and your mother!” He said excitedly. “Now come to the living room, hurry up!”_

_“Okay,” I said groggily. He left my room. What’s going on? Why do I have a bad feeling about this? I got up and slowly went into the living room. There’s a girl a few years or so younger than me standing in there. She had ink black hair and glowing red eyes. She was pale like all Reapers, but there was something strange about her. I couldn’t put my finger on it. I don’t like it._

_“Okay, come in the living room, dear!” Dad called and Mom walked out from the kitchen._

_“Oh my... Greg, is this....?” Mom gasped out as she spotted the girl._

_“She is.” Dad said beaming at her. “I did it!”_

_“Oh, honey! I’m so happy!” Mom gushed before kneeling down to the girl’s level. “Hello, what’s your name?” Mom never talked to me in that tone. She hates me, I know it. For the longest time, I never knew why but I see now that she wanted a girl all along. But she got stuck with me._

_“My name is Mary.” The girl said smiling at her sweetly. I don’t like it. She’s... she’s up to something. She doesn’t belong here. I don’t know why I get that feeling, but I feel that way._

_“It’s nice to meet you Mary. My name is Alison. From now on, I’ll be your mother.” Mom said hugging the girl. I froze. No, she can’t stay here. I frowned when Mary looked at me. She was smirking at me. What is her deal? “Oh, and that’s Chris. Your older brother. Don’t mind him though.” Well, at least I was acknowledged this time. Normally, Mom ignores me and acts like I’m not here. It used to hurt my feelings, but now I don’t feel hurt at all. I know I’m not wanted, so why do they keep me if they don’t want me? The next few days pass and Mary has already tried to get rid of me. So this was her plan all along? I thought after she pushed me down a well. It hurt a lot, but everything is healed up now. How do I get out of here? I thought looking up. Mary left me hours ago. I’m not surprised Mom and Dad hasn’t noticed that I’m gone. I looked at the well walls closely and realized that if I planned it right, I could climb out of here. It’s going to be a pain though. It took me almost a whole hour to get out of the well._

_Mary was there to greet me when I finally got out. “Hmph, you actually survived?” She grumbled._

_“I’m a Reaper, falls like that won’t kill me.” I said rolling my eyes at her._

_“Mary! Where are you, sweetie?” Mom’s voice called out._

_“I’m coming Mommy!” Mary called back sweetly. I almost gagged. “See you around, loser!” A few months later, some people from Ennery City showed up at our house. Mom was out shopping with Mary and Dad was at work. I was the only one at home. I answered the door and saw two guys standing there._

_“Are your mom and sister home?” One of them asked._

_“No.” I said blankly._

_“Where are they?” The other asked._

_“I’m not supposed to talk to strangers.” I told them. Well, I’m lying because neither of my parents actually told me this, but they didn’t need to know that._

_“Look, kid, I’m only going to ask you this once. Where are they?” The first guy said scowling at me. I sighed._

_“They went shopping. I don’t know when they’ll be back. They never tell me anything.” I said figuring it wasn’t worth it to not say anything. I don’t care what happens to my family. They don’t act like my family at all. I don’t mean anything to them. They just come and go as they please. I don’t bother worrying about them._

_“We have a few questions to ask you.” The first guy said. “May we come in?”_

_“Sure.” I said stepping aside to let them in._

_“It’s about your sister, Mary.” The second started._

_“That_ thing _isn’t my sister.” I said scowling. The second one raised an eyebrow at me. “All I know is my dad brought her home from work a few months ago and ever since then she’s been trying to kill me.”_

_“I see...” The first one said thoughtfully. “And you said she was brought here two months ago?”_

_“Yes.” I said wondering if he was deaf._

_“Thank you.” The second said smiling. “Has your father said anything related to how he found her?”_

_“No. I don’t ask questions and neither does my mom.” I said wanting them to leave already. “But... I did overhear him telling my mom that he was really close to having a successful experiment the week before he brought that thing home.”_

_“Why do you call her a thing?” The first one asked curiously._

_“I don’t know what’s wrong with her, but she’s not normal.” I said frowning. “There’s just something really off about her and I don’t like it.”_

_“Thank you for your time, kid. Would you mind not saying anything to your folks about us visiting?” The second said as they went to leave._

_“Sure,” I said and then they left. Anything to get rid of that thing. Another few months pass and Dad is coming home looking really irritated. One of those days, Mary made up some story about me doing something bad and he beat me pretty badly. And then I was forced to go shopping with my mom and Mary. We were in the heart of Ennery City and getting ready to enter yet another store when a group of Reapers from Ennery Tower showed up. They surrounded us and said were under arrest. I didn’t know what was going on, but I complied with them. Mom and Mary were separated into different rooms and I was taken to the office of those guys who came to the house a few months back. I heard Dad stomping around and he burst into the room looking angry._

_“What the hell is going on?” He said glaring at the men._

_“I was wondering when you’d show up.” The first man said smirking._

_“Fuck off, Cole. Tell me where my wife and daughter are!” Dad said glaring at ‘Cole’._

_“Don’t worry about them. They’re safe for now at the moment. You see, Mr. Hamel would like a word with you. He’s waiting for you in his office.” ‘Cole’ said still smirking. Dad growled at him. “Oh and don’t forget your brat.” Dad turned to me, finally noticing me and glared at me. He grabbed me by arm, causing me to wince in pain, and dragged me to wherever this Mr. Hamel is. Once inside, he threw me to the floor and marched up to Mr. Hamel’s desk._

_“What is the meaning of this, sir?” Dad asked him more calmly than he was earlier._

_“Do you really have to throw your child around like that?” Mr. Hamel said getting up from his seat and walking over to me. “Stand up, boy.” He held out his hand and helped me up. “That’s better.” Mr. Hamel patted the top of my head and went back to his desk. “As for you, Mr. Sykes, I have evidence to suggest that you’ve been doing immoral experiments on pregnant women for years and I believe your daughter is also proof of this.”_

_“What are you talking about? Why would I experiment on pregnant women?” Dad asked scoffing._

_“Well, when I learned that the amount of dead pregnant women has gone up substantially, I started to get concerned. Especially with how fast they’ve been dying. So I decided to conduct a search of your lab while you were at home and found some astonishing evidence. There were records of all the women that had died in files in your office. Not to mention, I found a lot of research on Black Souls and Reapers in general. It got me thinking. What would you want with this information? Then I found your notes on the experiments and I became appalled at what you were attempting. And now it seems that you’ve accomplished it.” Mr. Hamel said looking severely disappointed. I couldn’t understand half of what was being said but I know it was bad. Wait... Black Soul and Reapers... Did Dad create a Black Soul-Reaper hybrid? That would be why Mary makes me feel so uneasy._

_A few days pass and Dad, Mom, and Mary are set to be executed. It turns out Mom knew about it the whole time. Did she know that Mary was trying to kill me? Probably. She wanted me gone more than anyone. I sat there in the front watching as they executed Mary in front of my parents. Mom and Dad begged them to let her go and I wanted to throw up. They wouldn’t have begged for my life like that. They never loved me they way they loved that monster. She wasn’t even biologically theirs and they loved her more. What did I do wrong to deserve that? Well, it serves them right. I thought glaring at them. Mom and Dad cried after Mary gave a harrowing scream as she was being stabbed with a black willow stake and being cut with a Reaper’s blade. Mom and Dad were killed next and I didn’t feel anything. After that... I couldn’t feel anything anymore._

_I was called a lot of names, beaten, and tortured a lot for things I didn’t do. I just accepted it because what was the point if they weren’t going to listen? If they left me alone afterwards, I didn’t mind. Eventually I really couldn’t feel anything anymore, not even pain._

_Dream_

            I sat up, gasping. What the hell? Why did I dream about all of that now? Does it really bother me that much to know that there’s a small part of me that is Black Soul? I’m not like that monster and I won’t ever be. I looked at the time and it was almost five o’clock in the morning. I sighed. I might as well just get up. I thought getting out of bed.


	6. Chapter 5

            When it was a more decent time, I made my way into the kitchen. “You’re up early.” Travis said as he was just setting breakfast on the table.

            “Didn’t sleep well,” I muttered as I sat down at the table. He frowned.

            “Are you okay?” He asked me, looking worried.

            “I think so.” I said shrugging. Just as he was about to say something else, Jack walks in.

            “Good morning!” He greeted, cheerfully. Ugh, he’s a morning person.

            “Good morning, Jack.” Travis said smiling at him. “Did you sleep well?”

            “Yeah! I’m really excited for school today.” Jack said sitting down next to me.

            “Well, let’s hope it won’t be like yesterday.” I said as I began to put food on my plate.

            “I agree.” Travis said sitting down at the table too. Jack pretty much carried a conversation between himself and Travis. I’m sure he was trying to involve me in it too, but I’m too tired to deal with conversations right now. I just focused on eating my food. By the time we made it to school, I was ready to just turn around and go home. I didn’t though because I don’t trust Jack to be by himself. There was still snow on the ground, but there wasn’t a whole lot. Everything was getting muddy since the snow is melting. I’m glad it’s clearing up though. I hate the snow.

            “Hey, are you feeling okay today?” Alice asked me as Jack and I got out of the car.

            “Yeah, why?” I asked her, not really in the mood for conversation.

            “You just seem... off today.” She said shrugging.

            “I’m fine.” I said sighing before Jack pretty much dragged me into the school. Students were still staring and whispering about him. For some reason, that really annoyed me today. Any other day and I wouldn’t have cared. Is it because of the dream I had last night? No. That’s not it. It might be because I’m actually starting to like having Jack around, which is weird for me since I’m not a big fan of new people. Ah well... I’ll just have to ignore it the best I can or I might cause some trouble and get nagged at for it later. Luckily for me, the rest of Jack’s second day of school wasn’t as eventful as yesterday. Newton and his buddies still tried to start crap with me over Jack, but I kept my patience and anger in check. Even the Cullens teased me about how ‘protective’ of Jack I am and it’s annoying. They don’t understand how pure-hearted this guy is. He’ll believe anything you say. I can’t leave him alone for two seconds without Emmett telling him stupid stuff and Jack actually believes it!

            So yeah, I’m a little protective of him. I don’t know what it is about him, but I can’t stand anyone telling him lies, no matter how little the lie is, and him actually believing it. It’s like kicking a puppy or something. You don’t just lie to Jack, even when teasing, and expect him to understand that you’re teasing. Travis didn’t lie when he said that Jack was basically a child. Throughout the day, flashes of my dream would pop into my head and it was really annoying. I’d see that _thing’s_ eyes in my head or I’d see my father beating me the one time he did it. Whenever that would happen, I’d end up glaring at whatever I’m staring at. Edward and Bella said something to me about it but I didn’t tell them a damn thing. No offense to them, but it’s none of their business. Now they keep sharing worried looks and it’s so fucking annoying. I just want to slap them, but instead I work on restraining that feeling. “Are you sure you’re okay?” Jack asked me as I drove us home.

            “Yes.” I told him sighing. “Don’t worry about it.”

            “Okay,” He said frowning. He’s not going to stop worrying about it. I can already tell. He doesn’t say anything more about it the rest of the ride home. Instead, he starts talking about the dogs and when I was going to start training.

            “The next session should be the last with them.” I told him as I pulled into the driveway.

            “Then we get to train after that?” Jack asked eagerly.

            “Yeah.” I said before getting out of the car.

            “Yay!” Jack cheered before going into the house. That kid is so full of energy it’s making me exhausted just looking at him. I was a bit surprised to see the Cullens standing inside the house when I got through the door. I mean, I didn’t see any of their cars for a whole block. I sighed.

            “What’s going on?” I asked frowning.

            “I was just thinking.” Travis said smiling. “You and I should have a sparring match.”

            “Huh? Why?” I asked confused.

            “It’s been awhile since then.” Travis said shrugging.

            “So you want me to kick your ass?” I asked him smirking.

            “Who knows? I might be the one who’s kicking your ass.” Travis said smirking at me. I rolled my eyes.

            “Fine, when?” I said sighing. I’m really not in the mood for this shit right now.

            “How about now?” He asked me.

            “I don’t care.” I said before going into the kitchen.

            “And where do you think you’re going?” Travis asked.

            “The kitchen.” I said before grabbing a bite to eat.

            “Are you seriously going to eat now after we agreed to have a sparring match?” Travis asked me exasperatedly.

            “Yeah. I’m hungry.” I said rolling my eyes.

            “Whatever.” He grumbled. I shrugged and ate something quickly before following Travis outside. We decided to have a sparring match in the meadow I found from before. For some reason the dogs showed up. What the hell are they doing here? Did Travis invite them? Ugh, what a pain. “You better not go easy on me.”

            “What a pain.” I said sighing. I prepared myself before we started. I don’t understand why he wants to spar with me all of a sudden. Did I do something to piss him off? I mean, I’ve done that a lot lately. But last I checked we were cool. Jack decided to be the judge of the match and as soon as he started it, Travis was on me. I rolled my eyes and dodged him easily. Travis threw a punch to my stomach and I sidestepped him, giving Travis a punch of my own. My fist connected with his stomach and he was sent flying back into a tree. He was able to maneuver himself to where he used the tree to jump off of it and come back at me full force. I met him halfway and kicked him in the head, sending him to the ground. He skidded a few feet and came to a stop. He shakily stood up and smirked at me. “What are you smirking at?” It was really starting to piss me off.

            “What? Am I pissing you off?” Travis said tauntingly. I sighed.

            “Alright, I’ll bite. What’s this about?” I asked him scowling.

            “No talking during a match!” Travis scolded before charging at me.

            “What a nuisance,” I huffed before jumping away from him as he threw a punch to my face.

            “You’re not being serious.” Travis said as he chased after me.

            “Just remember, you asked for it asshole.” I said glaring at him. I stopped and charged at him. I hit him with an uppercut to his chin and he went flying. I jumped after him and spun around, kicking him in the stomach. The force sent him three meters away from me, but I didn’t let up. He wanted serious and he was going to get it. I continued to chase him and throw punches and kicks until Jack yelled at us to stop. Travis was lying on the ground, a little bloody and worse for wear. I was a little out of breath, but I was standing a few feet away from Travis.

            “Now, don’t you feel better to get that out?” Travis asked as soon as he stood up.

            “Seriously?” I asked him, pissed.

            “Okay, forget I said that.” Travis said chuckling. Suddenly there was a loud popping sound and there was a pain in my stomach. My eye twitched in annoyance as I turned around to find the culprit who caused this. It was Mike fucking Newton holding a handgun.

            “What the fuck, Newton?” I spat at him. “You really shouldn’t have done that.” Newton visibly gulped and tried to run, but I was faster. I had knocked him out before he got too far. “Bastard.”

            “Are you okay, Chris?” Bella asked shocked.

            “I’m fine. I can’t die, remember?” I said sighing. “Now everyone be quiet so I can focus.” I put my hand over Newton’s head and closed my eyes. I focused on what just happened and erased the memory. “There, he won’t remember anything.”

            “Is the bullet still inside you?” Carlisle asked worriedly.

            “Yeah, but I can take it out later.” I said shrugging. “More importantly, we need to move Newton before he wakes up.”

            “I’ll take him to his home.” Travis said sighing. “Can’t you go one day without someone trying to kill you?”

            “No, apparently not.” I said shrugging.

            “We should get that bullet out of you soon.” Carlisle said frowning.

            “Fine,” I said sighing. I pushed my fingers through where the bullet was and pulled it out, causing myself to bleed some more. It took a few minutes, but I got the bullet out. “There, it’s out. Happy?”

            “Ew,” Alice said wrinkling her nose.

            “How are you not in any pain?” Seth asked frowning.

            “Like I said, I have a high tolerance to pain.” I said rolling my eyes. “I’ve felt a lot worse pain than this.”

            “Now what are we going to do?” Jack muttered.

            “What do you mean? Newton isn’t going to remember anything.” I said confused.

            “Yeah, but that was a really loud sound. Surely someone heard it.” He said worriedly.

            “It’s hunting season, so it’s not so strange.” Bella said shrugging. Everyone stared at her. “What? My dad told me it was.”

            “Don’t worry about it.” Carlisle said smiling at Jack. “If someone asks, we’ll keep an eye on the situation.” Jack nods, looking doubtful.

            “Seriously, everything is going to be fine.” I told him.

            “Okay.” He said smiling. Seriously though, what was the whole point of Travis wanting a sparring match with me? Ugh.

            “Where are you going?” Bella asked as I began heading in the direction of the car.

            “Home.” I stated, grabbing my stuff and Jack soon followed me. “There’s no point being here.” Suddenly a memory of that monster flashed in my mind, causing a small twinge of pain in my head. I grabbed my head, wincing slightly.

            “Are you okay?” Edward asked me.

            “Yeah, fine.” I said sighing before Jack and I were out of sight of them.

            “Travis told me you didn’t sleep well.” Jack said on the way home.

            “Yeah?” I said not really wanting to talk about this right now. I beginning to think that Travis tells Jack this stuff on purpose. “Don’t worry too much about it. I’m fine.”

            “If you say so...” Jack said before going quiet. We got back to the house and Travis tells me that he’s taken care of Newton.

            “Good I guess.” I said before going into the kitchen. Why am I always so hungry? Well, I know why, but it’s seriously annoying.

            “We’ll have to keep an eye on this kid before he decides to do something stupid again.” Travis said following me.

            “Yeah, Carlisle said he’d keep an ear out in case someone questions about the gunshot sound.” I said digging in the fridge.

            “I want you to be careful around that kid.” Travis said frowning when I got what I needed out and turned to put them on the counter.

            “Don’t worry too much about me. Despite my record, I do know how to avoid fights and interactions with people.” I said as I made my food.

            “We’ll see,” Travis said rolling his eyes.


	7. Chapter 6

            A few weeks pass by and everyone at school is starting to talk about a school dance. And for some reason or another, Jack wants to go to this shindig. He’s been asking me about it since the day he heard about it. Since I hate social events, you can safely assume I don’t want any part in this school dance. Only the problem is if I let Jack go alone, then something bad will happen. I just know it. The moment I’m not with him, that Mike fucking Newton and his stupid friends are going to try something. So, when Jack asks me about it again, I tell him I’ll go. “Really?” Jack asked excitedly.

            “Yes, but I will not be dancing or socializing with anyone.” I said scowling.

            “That’s okay!” Jack said grinning. “And don’t worry, I won’t wander off!” I’m glad he said that because I didn’t want to have to say that out loud.

            “Good.” I said sighing.

            “What’s good?” Travis asked walking into the kitchen.

            “Chris said he’d go to the school dance with me!” Jack informed him.

            “Oh? Is that so?” Travis asked looking amused.

            “Fuck off.” I growled at him.

            “No way. This is interesting. You didn’t go to any of the dances before. What’s changed?” Travis asked smirking. He knew exactly why I said I’d go. The bastard just wants me to say it out loud.

            “Someone’s got to keep an eye on him.” I said rolling my eyes.

            “Sure, you keep telling yourself that.” Travis said chuckling. He’s been really pissing me off lately and I don’t know why. Is this just because I didn’t tell him what Sophia and I talked about that day? I really don’t get it. Since the day we had a sparring match, he’s asked me to spar with him five more times. Each time ended with me kicking his ass. Jack is worried that I might actually kill him, but I wouldn’t do that. I don’t even have a black willow stake to kill him with anyways. Travis and I keep telling Jack to not worry about it, but it doesn’t seem to be working. Jack doesn’t like Travis and I being in the same room as each other. So, he’ll try to stay in the same room and if he must go to another room, he’ll ask one of us to go with him. Also, I’ve started training Jack after telling the wolves that there wasn’t anything else that I could teach them. Jack was super excited the very first lesson, that we literally got nowhere. It was annoying, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell him so.

            “Whatever.” I muttered before leaving the room.

            “Where are you going?” Jack asked following me into the living room.      

            “I’m going to patrol the area.” I said just as I opened the front door. Every once in awhile I have memories that I’ve suppressed flash through my mind which causes me to get a headache. It usually doesn’t last long but it’s so annoying. Every time Jack or Travis tries to bring it up, I shut them down. I really don’t want talk about it. Plus, it’s none of their business. Not only are Jack and Travis asking me about it, the Cullens are too. What do they want from me? I’m really not suffering as much as they think I am. I’m completely okay and no matter how many times I’ve told them, they still don’t believe me. And they think we’re friends, but honestly? I don’t view them as friends. They’re just annoyances that I have to deal with like everyone else. I don’t understand why they think I’m such a good person to be around. I don’t care about the feelings of others or other people in general. I’ve always felt that way about people. For some reason though, Jack is different. I don’t know why, but he is. He gets me to say things I normally wouldn’t say to anyone and I’ll admit that it scares me. I’m not sure that I like it.

            I sighed to myself as I made my way to the outskirts of Forks. I looked around and found no signs of Black Souls nearby. I’m probably just wasting my time with this, but I don’t care. I can’t stand to be in the same house as Travis right now. I’m a bit surprised since I haven’t felt like this in a very long time. A rustling sound put me on high alert as I looked around my surroundings. It wasn’t a Black Soul, I would’ve sensed it. I locked onto the location of the rustling and saw that it was just a deer. I rolled my eyes at myself. I’m being jumpy right now. I need to calm down. I closed my eyes and cleared my mind, taking a few deep breaths here and there. Once I was calmed down, I opened my eyes and I happened to spot Chief Swan and some other guy in hunting gear. “Is that you, Chris?” Chief Swan called out to me.

            “Yes sir.” I answered as Chief Swan and friend made their way to me.

            “You’re not hunting, are you?” Chief Swan asked me.

            “No sir. I was just out for a walk.” I told him.

            “Be careful. It’s hunting season, don’t want to get confused for a deer.” Friend said chuckling. I could hear the concern in his voice though.

            “I will. I was just about to head back.” I said shrugging.

            “Okay. Try to stick to the trail.” Chief Swan said smiling.

            “Yes sir.” I said before heading for the trail. I briefly heard Chief Swan saying that I’m a good kid. Ha, if he knew all the things I’ve said and done, he wouldn’t think so.

Travis’ P.O.V

            Oh no... I think all my attempts at getting Chris to tell me what’s been bothering is just pushing him away. Damn it. How does Jack do this? He makes it seem so much easier than it is. Well, I guess challenging Chris to a sparring match every chance I get isn’t helping much. But I don’t know what else to do. “Jack?” I said walking into his room.

            “What’s up, Travis?” Jack asked me curiously.

            “How do you get Chris to open up so easily?” I asked frowning.

            “What do you mean?” Jack asked cocking his head to the side.

            “Over the past few weeks I’ve been trying to figure out what’s been bothering him, and all my attempts are just pushing him away.” I said frustrated.

            “Have you tried asking him?” Jack asked me.

            “Yes. He keeps pushing me away.” I said sighing. “I’m afraid that at this rate, he’ll go back to being how he used to be. And that’s not good.”

            “Was he bad?” Jack asked curiously.

            “No, not exactly. I mean he never did anything to deserve how he’s been treated. It’s just, before he’d always ignore people, whether they were being nice or not. He didn’t speak at all and only did so when he felt it was necessary. And like I said before, we fought all the time.” I said sighing. “I don’t want that to happen again. I think he doesn’t see anyone as his friend; like the Cullens for example.”

            “What about me?” Jack asked looking sad.

            “Only he knows the answer to that one.” I said shaking my head. “But I wouldn’t worry too much about it okay? Trust me, if he didn’t view you as a friend, he’d treat you like he does everyone else.”

            “Okay.” Jack said looking like he felt a little bit better. “What do you think is bothering him?”

            “I’ve noticed he hasn’t been getting any sleep lately, so I’m assuming he’s having nightmares.” I said frowning. “I can only imagine they’re about his past with his parents and that hybrid. Plus, every once in awhile he’ll clutch his head like he’s having a bad headache. So, I think maybe he’s remembering some things he couldn’t remember before.”

            “Look at you go. You got it all in one.” Chris said walking into the room.

            “Um, I was worried about you.” I said feeling awkward. I hadn’t actually meant for him to hear me say all that. I wanted him to tell me, but it looks like he isn’t denying it. Chris shrugged.

            “Thanks, but like I said. I’m fine.” He said before leaving the room. I sighed once he was gone.

            “We’ll reach out to him.” Jack said optimistically. I smiled.

            “Yeah, I hope so.” I said before going back into my study to work on some things.

Chris’ P.O.V

            It’s the day of the dance and the Cullens won’t leave me alone about going to the stupid thing. It’s pissing me off. Can’t I do something normal without someone acting like it’s a big deal? They know the only reason I’m going is because of Jack. Do they not understand just how oblivious Jack is to the human world? Who knows what would happen if I let this kid go off by himself? I know he’s not stupid, but he’s not street smart either. Travis tried to get me to dress up for the event, but I flat out refused to do it. I’m not going to the dance to enjoy it. I’m going there to keep an eye on Jack and to make sure Mike fucking Newton doesn’t try anything stupid. I may have erased his memory of shooting me that day, but he still remembers grabbing the gun from wherever he got it. So, he must be planning on trying to intimidate me or something. Well, that’s not going to work. It was time to go to the school and Jack was almost bouncing off the walls with excitement. “What are you so excited for? It’s just a stupid dance.” I said as we got in the car.

            “I’ve never been to a school dance before! That’s why I’m so excited! It sounds like a lot of fun!” Jack said eagerly. I’m not going to be the one to ruin it for him; just putting that out there.

            “If you say so.” I said shaking my head. It took a few minutes, but we finally arrived at the school. The parking lot was full of cars, as expected. The Cullens were parked near the back and apparently, they were waiting for us. Ugh, I see them enough at school. I don’t want to see them on the weekend too.

            “Aw, you didn’t dress up.” Alice said pouting.

            “Why bother?” I mutter as Jack headed towards the entrance eagerly.

            “Do you suspect Newton is up to something tonight?” Edward asked, following me in.

            “Yeah. I get the feeling my shirt is going to end up ruined somehow.” I said shrugging. Edward grimaced.

            “Well, so far I don’t detect anything threatening. I’ll keep you posted.” Edward said before going off with Bella. I found Jack at the refreshments table and stopped him from getting a glass.

            “What’s wrong?” Jack asked me, frowning.

            “Someone spiked the punch, I wouldn’t touch it if I were you.” I said wrinkling my nose at the smell of it. Jack took a whiff of it and grimaced.

            “What is that stuff?” He asked putting the cup he had in his hand down.

            “That’s alcohol and it’s not good for you.” I told him. “If you drink it, you’ll feel dizzy and sick.”

            “Why do humans drink it if that happens?” Jack asked as I steered him away from the table.

            “Because they’re stupid.” I said rolling my eyes. About an hour or so later, Alice has Jack dancing with her and Jasper and the kid looks like he’s having fun. I won’t stop him from having fun. To keep away from the crowd, I leaned up against one of the walls of the gym, while keeping an eye on Jack. Eventually Newton found his way to me and he had the same exact gun he had from the other day. “Oh boy.” I said sighing.

            “Sh-Shut up, freak!” Newton sneered at me. He was definitely drunk, I could smell it.

            “What? Are you going to shoot me if I don’t?” I asked him.

            “Shoot you?” He questioned.

            “Yeah, or is that just a toy gun?” I said rolling my eyes. I can’t believe he would bring that to a school dance.

            “I said shut up!” He said cocking the gun and pointing it at me.

            “Go on then, shoot me. I don’t care anymore.” I said not even bothering to defend myself.

            “W-What?” Newton said blinking. “You want me to shoot you?”

            “You were going to do anyways, right? Why else would you bring that gun?” I said wanting to shoot myself just to get this guy to go away.

            “Why? Why did I bring it?” He questioned himself. Oh. My. God. Can I kick his ass now? A teacher happened to stumble upon the scene and immediately confiscated the gun.

            “Mr. Newton! How dare you bring a gun to school and then point it at another student?” The teacher said glaring at him.

            “Gun? I brought... gun?” Newton said sounding very confused.

            “Are you...” The teacher sniffed him. “You’re drunk! What is wrong with this school?” The teacher said huffing. “Come with me Newton!” The teacher grabbed Newton by the wrist and led him off to where I think the principal is. Jack made his way to me, looking worried.

            “Are you okay?” He asked me worriedly.

            “Yeah, let’s get out of here.” I said not really wanting to stick around for the end of the dance. Jack nods and follows me outside. “Did you have fun?”

            “Yeah, I had a lot of fun!” Jack said excitedly. “Thank you for coming with me!”

            “You’re welcome.” I said as we got into the car.

            “So, are we telling Travis about the whole gun thing?” Jack asked me.

            “Yeah, it’s better to tell him now. If we didn’t and he found out from the vampires, I’d just get nagged at.” I said sighing. It’s really annoying.


	8. Chapter 7

            “How was the dance?” Travis asked as we walked in through the front door.

            “It was great!” Jack said excitedly. “I got to dance with Alice and Jasper!”

            “Oh? I’m glad you had fun.” Travis said smiling.

            “Oh, and someone spiked the punch which led to Newton pointing his gun at me again.” I threw in nonchalantly.

            “What?” Travis asked frowning. “No one was hurt?”

            “No. He’s as stupid drunk as he is sober.” I said rolling my eyes. “He couldn’t remember why he brought the gun in the first place.”

            “A teacher stopped anything from happening though.” Jack said before yawning. “I’m exhausted.”

            “Go to bed then.” Travis said shaking his head. Jack nods and goes to his room.

            “I wanted to shoot myself, just so Newton would leave me alone.” I said rolling my eyes.

            “If you did that, we’d have a lot of work to do to clean that up.” Travis said scowling at me.

            “That’s why I didn’t.” I said before going into the kitchen. I had the chance to eat a few sandwiches before Erica showed up at our door. You could see the worry and concern in Erica’s brown eyes. She’s a foot shorter than myself and she has short brown hair. Like all Reapers she has very pale skin and she looks to be around Travis’ age.

            “Erica, what’s wrong?” Travis asked her as he let her in.

            “It’s Sophia. She’s gone missing and I haven’t been able to get into contact with her.” Erica said frantically.

            “Calm down.” I told her sighing. “I’m sure she’ll go back home.” Erica glared at me. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to mention that she flat out hates me.

            “What do you care?” She asked me coldly.

            “You’re right, I don’t care.” I said rolling my eyes.

            “Chris!” Travis said scowling at me.

            “It’s fine. I was only trying to be nice, but I guess that’s what I get for trying.” I said before going back into the kitchen. Whatever. I thought continuing to find something else to eat. This whole being hungry all the time thing is starting to get on my nerves. Finally, I heard the front door open and shut again before Travis walked into the kitchen.

            “I think it’s safe to say that Sophia is making her move.” Travis said frowning.

            “Yeah. Should we get started then?” I asked as I finished making more food.

            “Let’s start tomorrow.” Travis said sighing. “We’ll need Jack for this and I don’t want to wake him up right now.”

            “Good idea.” I said before eating my food.

            “I never noticed until just now, but Erica seems to really hate you.” Travis said thoughtfully.

            “Yeah, well I’m surprised it took you this long to figure it out.” I said after swallowing what was in my mouth.

            “Did you do something to piss her off?” Travis asked curiously.

            “Not that I’m aware of.” I said shrugging. “You’d just have to ask her yourself, I guess.” Travis shook his head and left the kitchen. I finished my food and decided to go to bed. We have a long day ahead of us.

            The next day, Travis and I caught Jack up to speed on the situation and got to work. We started in London and tracked her as far as Ireland. We didn’t get very far though because Mark and the high school drama club came to arrest me. “So? What is it that I’ve supposedly done now?” I asked as the roughly forced my hands behind me.

            “Shut up.” Mark said glaring at me.

            “Why are you arresting him?” Travis asked scowling at him.

            “We’re just following orders.” Mark said sighing.

            “It’s fine.” I said shrugging. “You two go ahead.”

            “You keep telling yourself that.” Mark said sneering at me. I rolled my eyes. We went through the door they came out of and we ended up in front of Ennery Tower. Ugh, I hate this place. They led me to Mr. Hamel’s office. Oh boy, here we go. “We’ve brought him.”

            “Good,” Mr. Hamel said not looking up from his paperwork. “Just take him to one of the holding cells.”

            “Yes, sir.” Mark said smirking at me. Somehow, I don’t think he’s going to take me to the holding cells. Just putting that out there. He doesn’t scare me. We went down the ground level and then took an elevator to the underground floors. There are two of them; the first one you go to is where the holding cells are and the second one is where the torture rooms are. Well, I call them torture rooms, but they’re technically called interrogation rooms. And I was right about them not taking me to the holding cells. Well, it’s not my ass on the line for disobeying an order. They roughly threw me into the room and slammed the door shut. After I heard the lock click, Mark and the high school drama club walked away. Wow, I’m surprised they didn’t jump right into torturing me. Also, they didn’t chain me to the wall. I wonder what they’re up to.

Travis’ P.O.V

            “What are we going to do now?” Jack asked frowning.

            “We’re going to talk to Mr. Hamel about tracking down Sophia.” I said sighing. “There’s nothing I can do about Mark arresting Chris, unfortunately.”

            “They didn’t even give a reason for it.” Jack said sadly.

            “Well, Chris is used to this by now.” I said shrugging. “He’ll be okay, I promise.”

            “Okay...” Jack said not looking convinced. We entered Ennery Tower and the atmosphere was very tense. I wonder what’s going on and why Mr. Hamel had Chris arrested. Once we were standing in front of Mr. Hamel’s door, I knocked.

            “Come in.” Mr. Hamel said through the door. “Ah, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Quinn. I was wondering when I’d be seeing you two.”

            “We’re not here about Chris.” I said frowning.

            “Oh? Then what is the purpose of your visit?” He asked raising an eyebrow.

            “We have reason to believe that Sophia is the one responsible for stealing the research.” I said feeling a bit nervous. “I don’t have absolute proof yet, but Erica came to me and has told that Sophia has gone missing.”

            “Tell me from the beginning.” Mr. Hamel said interested. So, I spent the next five minutes telling him what had happened so far. “I see, and you didn’t bother to tell me this earlier?”

            “I didn’t know about it until recently myself. I wanted to make sure that all the facts were straight before I came to you about it.” I said hoping he’d help me. I don’t know what Sophia has planned exactly and I don’t want to go in blind.

            “Alright. I’ll send Mark and his group in as back up.” Mr. Hamel said nodding. “I expect you to report back to me when your through.”

            “Yes sir.” I said feeling relieved.

            “Also, about Mr. Sykes.” Mr. Hamel said before Jack and I could leave. “There is a reason why I had him brought in. Just know that the intention is to keep him safe.”

            “Safe? From what?” I asked frowning.

            “I don’t know if you know this, but there is a small part of him that is Black Soul.” Mr. Hamel said grimly.

            “Yeah, I found out not too long ago myself. Chris knows too.” I said frowning.

            “I see. Well that makes things easier.” Mr. Hamel said sighing. “I’m afraid that if he confronts Miss Adams, if she’s doing what you’ve said, that it will trigger that part of him.”

            “I don’t think so.” I said shrugging. “The only part of him that seems to be really affected by it is the fact he’s always hungry.”

            “Does Soul Power satisfy this hunger?” Mr. Hamel said looking very serious.

            “For a while, but sir? I think I know where you’re going with this and you don’t have to worry. Chris isn’t going to go after human souls or Black Souls.” I told him.

            “I sure hope so for your sake, Mr. Lynch.” Mr. Hamel said sitting back in his chair. “Now, you better get a move on.”

            “Yes sir.” I said before Jack and I left the room. So that’s why Chris was being arrested. If that was the reason, then there should be no reason why they would torture him. Well, if they followed Mr. Hamel’s orders that is. Mark and his group met us at the entrance of Ennery Tower.

            “So where are we going?” Mark asked curiously.

            “We’re going to Ireland.” I said sighing. I want to question him to see where he took Chris, but right now wasn’t a good time to think about it. We had to stop Sophia. “That’s the last place we tracked her to.”

            “Okay, let’s get this show on the road.” Mark said frowning. In Ireland, we tracked Sophia to Dublin. After asking around, we got information that she was seen with small child and was heading out of the country.

            “Oh no...” I muttered frowning. “She actually succeeded.”

            “Succeeded in what?” Mark asked confused.

            “Mr. Hamel didn’t explain the situation to did he?” I asked him.

            “No, he didn’t.” Mark said shrugging.

            “Ugh,” I groaned. I took a few minutes of our precious time to explain what was going on.

            “Oh, well shit.” Mark muttered surprised.

            “Yeah, so we need to get going.” I said rolling my eyes. I looked over at Jack. He’s been really quiet. “Are you okay, Jack?”

            “Yeah.” He said sighing.

            “I know it seems like I don’t care about Chris, but he’s okay. He can take care of himself, I promise.” I said hoping to ease his worries. Jack just nods. That’s another reason to find Sophia.

            “Let’s try France.” Mark suggested. Ugh, this was going to take a while. It’s been almost three days and we’ve been to England, Ireland, France, Spain, and Germany. Keep in mind, we’re using the doors to get to these places. Jack was still really worried about Chris. I told him if he wanted to, he could go back to Ennery Tower. Mr. Hamel might let him see Chris. Jack hesitated at first but eventually went back. I don’t mind that he went back. Seeing Jack so worried like that made me a little concerned for Jack. I honestly didn’t realize that Jack cared so much about Chris. It was kind of cute. We finally tracked Sophia down to an abandoned factory outside of a city in Sweden. “How do you want to do this?”

            “I’ll go in alone first. She won’t be as guarded as much if I do that.” I said frowning.

            “Okay, we’ll be close by.” Mark said before I made my way into the factory. Most, if not all the windows were broken and some of the entrances were boarded up. There were debris and trash all over the place. Okay, it’s time to end this.


	9. Chapter 8

Chris’ P.O.V

            It must’ve been days before anyone came back. It made me a bit suspicious that no one came here to torture me. I know a lot of assholes who wouldn’t pass an opportunity like this. Some guy named Tom came in looking indifferent. “So? How are we going to do this?” I asked him.

            “What do you mean?” Tom asked looking confused.

            “Why else would those assholes put me in here if it isn’t to torture me?” I asked rolling my eyes. Tom actually looked shocked at this.

            “I came to get you, because Mr. Hamel found out that Mark didn’t follow his orders.” Tom said getting over the shock. “You were supposed to be put in a holding cell.”

            “Ah,” I said sighing. “Lead the way then.”

            “You’re actually cooperating?” Tom asked surprised.

            “I’ve always cooperated.” I said feeling a bit annoyed. “I’d say I don’t know who told you that, but that would be a lie.”

            “Er, right.” Tom said after clearing his throat awkwardly. “This way, please.” I followed him silently into where the holding cells are. He opened one and I walked in. It wasn’t long before I heard the door shut and be locked. Tom walked away. I rolled my eyes. Now that Mr. Hamel knows that Mark and the high school drama club disobeyed his orders, I hope those assholes get into a lot of trouble. I wonder how Jack and Travis are holding up with Sophia. She couldn’t be that hard to take down. She’s one of the worst fighters I’ve ever met. Jack is a better fighter than she is.

            “Chris!” Speaking of Jack. I thought as I turned towards his voice. “You’re okay!” He sounded very relieved.

            “I told you I would be.” I said shrugging. “Why aren’t you with Travis?”

            “I was really worried...” Jack said smiling sheepishly. I nodded.

            “So, did they track her down then?” I asked curiously.

            “Yeah, and she succeeded.” Jack said grimly.

            “I get the feeling she’s going to get the same punishment as my parents.” I said sighing. She’s so stupid. Why would she ruin her life over a monster like that?

            “You mean, she’s going be executed?” Jack asked wide-eyed.

            “Probably right after they execute that monster in front of her.” I said sitting down on the bed that was in here.

            “That’s awful.” Jack said frowning.

            “I know.” I said wanting to continue and say that she deserved it. But if I said that, Jack would just get upset about it. “There’s not much going on here. You can head back if you want.”

            “No, I’m going to stay here with you.” Jack said looking determined.

            “Okay,” I said wanting to just sleep now.

            “Can I ask you something personal?” Jack asked looking nervous.

            “Go ahead.” I said a bit warily.

            “Does it bother you that there’s a small part of you that’s Black Soul?” He asked me. I wasn’t expecting that one.

            “A little bit, yeah.” I said deciding to be truthful.

            “You’re not anything like that hybrid Travis described to me.” Jack said sternly. For some reason, that actually made me feel better.

            “Thanks.” I said sincerely. Jack smiled.

            “That’s what friends are for.” Jack said excited, before hesitation crossed his face.

            “What’s up?” I asked him.

            “Do you think of me as your friend?” He asked looking worried. Did I? I mean I don’t treat him the way I do others, so I guess that makes him my friend.

            “Yeah.” I said nodding. Jack looked relieved to hear this. “What brought this on?”

            “Oh... well Travis was saying how you didn’t really view the vampires as your friends, so...” Jack said fidgeting a bit.

            “Of course, he’d tell you that.” I said rolling my eyes. “Just because I don’t view them as my friends, it doesn’t mean I hate them. They’re just really annoying.” Jack grins at me. “What?”

            “Oh, it’s nothing.” He said cheerfully. I hate it when he does that. I never know what he’s thinking.

Travis’ P.O.V

            Going into the abandoned factory knowing that Sophia made hybrid monster was honestly making me feel uneasy. I looked around the first floor and didn’t see anything besides old run-down machinery and more debris. She must be on the second floor then. The stairs looked like they could collapse at any second, so I jumped up to the top of the stairs. “Travis, I knew you’d find me.” I froze and turned to see Sophia standing in a large open area. Next to her was the hybrid. It was a little girl that looked like she was probably seven. Apparently, these hybrids age very quickly. That’s not good. She had long brown hair, brown eyes that had flecks of red in them, and a pale complexion. Her head reached up to Sophia’s side and she was holding Sophia’s hand.

            “Sophia, you need to turn yourself in.” I told her calmly.

            “That won’t be happening.” She snapped. “I’ve worked so hard to create my own little angel. I won’t give up now that she’s here!”

            “Think of the consequences! Mr. Hamel isn’t going to just let this slide! You could be executed the same way Chris’ parents were. You could avoid that if you give yourself up now.” I told her, hoping she’d take my advice.

            “I just said that’s not happening.” She said in hard tone. She was glaring at me now. “Why can’t you just be happy for me? You’re supposed to be my best friend in the whole world! Can’t you see how precious she is?”

            “What if she starts attacking Reapers, Sophia? You’ll be held responsible for her!” I said scowling at her.

            “She won’t harm Reapers or humans for that matter! She’ll ingest Soul Power just as we do!” Sophia said looking determined.

            “No, she won’t.” I said shaking my head. “Soul Power will harm her. It’s all in the research. I thought you would’ve seen it.”

            “I will find a way!” Sophia said determined. “Now don’t get in my way Travis or I will have to resort to killing you.” She threatened.

            “I’m sorry, Sophia, but you won’t scare me away. I have to end this now before someone gets hurt.” I said grimly. She huffed.

            “Fine, then we’ll do this the hard way.” She said before looking down at the hybrid girl. “Ariel, will you stop that bad man from hurting Mommy?”

            “Yes, Mommy.” The hybrid girl responded in a cold voice. Not good. I braced myself as the girl charged at me. I wish Chris was here to back me up. I dodged her little fist, figuring it was deadly despite her size. I was right in assuming that because it made contact with a wall and blew a hole in it. I must remember that this girl has the power of a Reaper and a powerful Black Soul. The girl growled in frustration and came at me again. She just has a lot of strength and speed but doesn’t know how to use it. That will make this easier at least. I decided to use my scythe on her, since she is half Black Soul. I should be able to make a dent in her at least. She gave a scream as my scythe made contact with her torso and she backed off.

“Ariel!” Sophia shrieked. She glared at me and charged at me herself. I dodged her easily and punched her in the stomach, sending her to the ground. The girl recovered from the attack and charged at me again. This time I didn’t dodge her. I swung my scythe down on her and successfully hit her. The girl fell to the floor screaming again. Sophia stood up from the ground and charged at me again. I knocked her back to the ground and this cycle continued until finally Mark and his group filed in to help. We managed to subdue the girl and Sophia. I felt relieved once we were back at Ennery Tower. Mr. Hamel was waiting for us and had us take both Sophia and the girl to the Execution room. The girl was chained up and Sophia was forced to watch as the girl was executed on the spot. I’d never heard Sophia cry so much in my life. I almost felt bad for her. Then Sophia was sentenced to being tortured for two months and the spending the rest of her existence out on Blank Island.

            “Mr. Lynch, Mr. Sykes is in the holding cells. I’ll have Tom take you to him.” Mr. Hamel said after Sophia was dragged out of the room.

            “Thank you, sir. Did you perhaps see Jack by chance?” I asked him curiously.

            “Yes, he went to visit Mr. Sykes.” Mr. Hamel answered. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a lot of paperwork ahead of me.”

            “Sir,” I said nodding before following Tom to where Chris was being held. I found Jack and Chris talking about random stuff. “I see you two are getting comfortable.”

            “Fuck off,” Chris said rolling his eyes. Tom opened the cell door and Chris walked out.

            “I’m just surprised no one tortured you for no reason this time.” I said as we walked to the elevator with Tom.

            “I’m just as surprised as you are.” Chris said before letting out a yawn. “So, what happened to Sophia and that thing?”

            “Well, that thing as you put it was executed right in front of Sophia. As for Sophia, she was sentenced to being tortured for two months and will be spending the rest of her existence on Blank Island.” I said sighing.

            “Good.” He muttered. I shook my head.

            “I feel kind of bad for her.” Jack said frowning.

            “Why? She knew what she was doing was wrong.” I said shrugging. “Besides, if that hybrid were left to be alive, it would’ve killed a lot of innocent people, Reapers and humans alike.”

            “Yeah,” Jack said sighing.

            “Hey, don’t worry about it. It’s done and over with.” Chris said sighing.

            “Okay,” Jack said smiling. Jack seems to be in a better mood now that Chris isn’t locked up anymore. When we returned to Forks, I was a bit surprised to see the Cullens waiting for us.

            “Did everything turn out okay?” Carlisle asked looking a bit worried.

            “Yeah, everything’s good now.” I told him smiling.

            “That’s great!” Alice said cheerfully.

            “Oh yeah, did Mr. Hamel ever tell you why I was arrested?” Chris asked curiously.

            “He said he was afraid you might start eating human souls and Black Souls.” I said rolling my eyes.

            “Ridiculous.” Chris said shaking his head. “Like that’s ever going to happen.”

            “Hey, I told him that would never happen.” I  said shrugging.


	10. Epilogue

Chris’ P.O.V

            Just as we were about to head back to the house, Mark and the high school drama club showed up. “Did we forget something?” Travis asked Mark curiously.

            “No, we just had some unfinished business with that asshole over there.” Mark said glaring at me.

            “It’s not my fault you didn’t follow Mr. Hamel’s direct order.” I said shrugging.

            “What exactly is that supposed to mean?” Travis asked angrily.

            “Meaning, instead of putting me in the holding cells like they were supposed to in the first place, they took me to the torture rooms instead.” I said sighing. “Good ol’ Tom came and got me.”

            “Well, whatever punishment you received from Mr. Hamel, you deserved it.” Travis said glaring at Mark.

            “We’re not ready to accept that punishment yet.” Mark said before he and the high school drama club attacked me all at once. I rolled my eyes. Well, I’ve been meaning to blow off some steam. I thought as I dodged all their pathetic attempts at attacking me. Mark threw a punch in my direction and I grabbed his arm before throwing him at one of the others. This struggle went on for about ten minutes and I kicked all their asses for the record. Those assholes finally left, and we could finally go back to the house. I was feeling tired. Now, hopefully we won’t have any more trouble.


End file.
